Intermittent fasting has gained attention for its potential metabolic benefits, but questions remain about which regimen is most effective and how it compares to continuous energy restriction. To address these questions, researchers analyzed data from over 9,800 participants across 153 studies, focusing on three common intermittent fasting regimens: time-restricted eating, alternate-day fasting, and the 5:2 diet. These were compared with continuous energy restriction and usual diets.
The analysis examined four key metabolic domains (anthropometry, blood pressure, glycemic parameters, and lipid profile) across 14 specific outcomes. By employing network meta-analysis, the researchers were able to combine direct and indirect evidence, allowing them to rank the effectiveness of each dietary strategy based on their impacts on metabolic health. The findings are published in the journal BMC Medicine.
The findings highlighted that all intermittent fasting regimens significantly reduced body weight compared to usual diets. The network meta-analysis revealed that intermittent fasting was more effective than usual diets in 85.4% of the studied metabolic outcomes and outperformed continuous energy restriction in 56.1%. Among the intermittent fasting regimens, alternate-day fasting consistently emerged as the most effective strategy for improving metabolic health, ranking first in 64.3% of the comparisons and second in 14.3%.
This research supports intermittent fasting as an effective dietary approach for improving metabolic health, outperforming usual diets and demonstrating efficacy comparable to continuous energy restriction. Among the various intermittent fasting regimens, alternate-day fasting stands out as the most promising, consistently delivering the most substantial improvements based on current evidence.
These findings contribute to a broader understanding of intermittent fasting as a viable strategy for improving metabolic health and inform future dietary recommendations.